Study for Profile of a Woman in a Bow Tie 1906

This small painting is called ‘Study for Profile of a Woman in a Bow Tie’ by Pierre Bonnard, and it’s now in a private collection. Bonnard has used visible brushstrokes here, as if capturing a fleeting impression, and in the way that the blue and yellow hues interact, it’s clear that he relished the physical act of painting. There's something quietly radical about Bonnard’s paintings: the way he embraces ambiguity and invites multiple interpretations. The surface is alive with texture; it's almost as though Bonnard is inviting us to touch the painting, to feel the physicality of the medium. Look at the soft brushstrokes of the woman's hair, and how they contrast with the more deliberate strokes that define her profile. It's as if Bonnard is telling us that identity is fluid, always in process, always open to reinterpretation. Bonnard's work reminds me of Vuillard in their shared interest in intimate domestic scenes. Both artists demonstrate how art embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed meanings.